The Proposal
by Totally-Out-Of-It
Summary: It was just a movie in and then a movie out and then dinner and then a ride on his yacht and then flying him around as Ironman and then nearly passing out. "Trust me. You don't really want to be with me." STony fic rec.


This is a rec fill for dreamitallawayx on tumblr. It isn't a whole, long story about it, but it contains variations of the lines focused on in the rec, and I wanted to get it done quickly. Hope you enjoy!

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Tony chucked a wrench into his tool box, not caring that it wasn't organized and would piss him off later when he couldn't find it. He was soaked with sweat after all the physical labor he'd been doing in redesigning the workshop, but he didn't mind. It was better than leaving the workshop and going upstairs... up where the others were... up where Steve could be. He leaned on the counter, his head hitting some cabinets and smashing his hair against his sticky forehead. He wished he could forget the last few days, the last few weeks actually.

It was just a movie in and then a movie out and then dinner and then a ride on his yacht and then flying him around as Ironman and then nearly passing out when his reactor started to blow because Steve was standing to close and keeping him trapped against a wall.

Tony cursed unintelligibly. Even he wasn't entirely sure what he'd tried to say. He cursed again, this time loud enough to discern the words 'damn it' and 'son of a cock loving whore.' He turned to his desk and opened a box. Inside was the new replacement cores for his reactor. He'd been using the same core for a year with no problems, but he still had these in case it died suddenly. He considered replacing his current one, which kept leaving him breathless. He wasn't sure if he should blame the core or Steve.

"Damn it," he cursed again, shutting the box and sliding it under the desk.

"You keep saying that," Steve said in an announcement of his presence. "Damn what?"

"Damn you," Tony answered. He motioned toward the stairs. "Get out. I'm busy."

"You know, I've had a great time these last few weeks, Tony," Steve said, ignoring Tony and stepping further into the workshop. "Great movies. Not like in my day. I'll be honest. They're better. Much more realistic."

"I mean it, Captain. I'm working. Go bother someone else," Tony tried again and turned away from Steve. He grabbed a circuit board he'd set aside the previous day and started to try and work on it.

"You know, I'd never been on a pleasure cruise before you took me out on the yacht? That was the first time I got to feel the spray of the ocean on my face and not worry about tanks and submarines and machine guns. It was really nice. And when you took me flying -," Steve continued.

"I'm warning you. If I mess this up because you're distracting me, I'm going to take this super hot pointy thing and stab you in the neck, and it won't be funny like when I shock Banner." Tony didn't foresee Steve actually listening. The man was a stubborn prick when he knew he was right... and damn it, he was right. Tony knew exactly where this was going.

"New York in the 21st century... at sunrise. It was beautiful, Tony. Really. Thanks," Steve said. "It was a great way to be woken up."

"You hadn't seen it properly before. What was I going to do, let you live in misery, believing this century was out to get you?" Tony asked, putting down the circuit board and giving up his farce.

When he turned around, Steve was a lot closer than he expected. "Tony," Steve said, so close he could reach out and touch Tony. "You made me dinner. You _made_ it."

"I'm not totally useless," Tony murmured, his eyes jumping all over Steve's face, not sure which part he liked most.

"You're not useless at all," Steve assured. He was half a foot away now. Tony was stuck against his desk, the whole horseshoe of them. "Tony, it wasn't just me, was it? You feel it too, don't you?"

"I don't," Tony lied, turning his head away. He could swear he felt Steve's chest rising and falling with each breath.

"You never take the others out. You nearly stopped breathing when I had you in the hall. Don't lie to me, Tony. You like me... and I... I like you," Steve murmured, his eyes slipping between trying to catch Tony's gaze and glancing nervously at his lips.

Tony turned his head to stare right into Steve's eyes, a stoic look on his face. He tried not to care that Steve was so close, that he was offering himself up on a silver platter, that it would be so easy to give in. He couldn't give in. Tony had never been good at sharing emotions.

"Trust me, Steve. You don't really want to be with me," he said, trying to sound as uncaring as possible.

"Yes. Yes, I do," Steve insisted. He grabbed Tony's forearm gently. Tony looked down at it and swallowed heavily.

"No. See, the thing is... Cap... There is a reason why I've been alone all this time, why I've never had a good relationship. I'm good that way. I'm _comfortable_ that way. And I think it would just be a lot easier if we forgot all the special treatment and everything that's happened between us, alright?" Tony tried. He sounded much less convincing this time.

"You're right," Steve agreed, nodding, and Tony felt his heart relax. "That would be easier."

And then Steve leaned his stupid face four inches down and kissed Tony full on the mouth. Tony sucked in air and his hand snapped to Steve's shoulder, but Steve was stronger outside of battle and he bent Tony slightly backwards over the desk with his kiss. He pulled their lips apart but did not move away.

"But if I wanted 'easy', Tony... I wouldn't have picked you," the soldier said. He smiled, his face too close to see in one glance.

Tony's breath left him all at once, in one short huff. He moved his hand up to Steve's neck and felt when the taller man swallowed heavily. Tony's mouth hung open, lips parted just enough to show his shock, and he chuckled. He found himself smiling and nodding his head.

"Yeah? Yeah. I suppose that's the truth of it," he said. He shifted his hold on Steve's neck and pulled him in again for another kiss. Steve smiled into Tony's mouth and wrapped his arm around Tony's waist, pulling their bodies together. Tony kept laughing whenever they parted for air, chuckling at his own fortunes. Steve's smile just kept growing more smug. Between their chests, the arc reactor buzzed with heat they both could feel.


End file.
